Implementation of the 1972 ILO report on Kenya, which might be regarded as the first ‘basic needs’ report, has been distinctly patchy, and the Kenyan economy is still at a crossroads as far as future strategy is concerned. If the basic needs/redistribution option were chosen this would imply a programme strikingly similar to the unimplemented remainder of the ILO report's recommendations. In which case the question asked by Leys about the ILO mission's proposals is raised again in an acute form—what incentive is there for those in power to make the sacrifices involved in implementing a basic needs strategy?